One of the recurrent themes in the blog comments is that of achievement and perseverance in the face of adversity. I'm fascinated by the athlete, the entertainer or the teacher who tenaciously works at achieving their dreams despite setbacks.

I'm reminded of a speaker who once said, "Those who have abandoned their dreams will try to take away our dreams."

We're all familiar with the genius of Michelangelo. His iconic and transcendent artistry is absolutely mind-boggling. Several years ago, my wife and I had the opportunity to visit a museum in Florence. When we saw Michelangelo's David, we both wept out of admiration and respect. A quote attributed to Michelangelo can be a powerful motivator for each of us, "The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it."

In other words, if we don't stretch ourselves, if we don't risk failure and if we don't get out of our comfort zone, we will never reach our full potential to bring peace, joy and encouragement to our fellow travelers.

7 Comments Posted

Here is the link to the stress arousal http://ygraph.com/chart/2173 I have noted..

Porter

June 6, 2012 6:54 p.m.

Thanks for the post. This reminds me of the classic textbook stress arousal curve as in here: stress curve .. i.e. you need optimal stress to get things done.

Porter

April 1, 2012 8:48 a.m.

I feel very gratitued for your meaningful posts, Dr. Creagan. I've found many exact encouraging and necessary thoughts that I need at the moment. I had deep emotional conflict at my work that I overcame. But soon after I got what I wanted, I realised that I couldn't physically and emotionlly keep working any more in those adverse circumstances. I left that harmful for me project. Now I'm surfing the i-net for the qualifed advices on the stress management and for the ways to stop to reharshing my difficult situation. The advices on the site of Mayo Clinic are very useful for me. Thank you again.

Darya

March 29, 2012 5:01 p.m.

I've always felt worthless. Then I joined an Anxiety Support Group at the local hospital. After practicing stress release exercises, I gained courage to repeat to myself: I shall not give others the power to make me feel miserable. It has worked.

Roberta

March 28, 2012 3:34 p.m.

Stress....when I get my mind filled with too many worrisome things....I get what they have identified as stress migraines and then I go into a depressed mode. I don't want to see anyone, go to work and have no incentive. I don't sleep well, no matter what I take. Night is the worst for me. No matter what I have done that day, as soon as my head hits the pillow, all the worrisome things start piling up and no matter what I have taken doesn't work. I have talked to different psychiatrists and psychologists and it all sounds like words to me. Any suggestions?

Corkey

March 25, 2012 10:19 p.m.

I agree, Edward. Another way that our dreams can be thwarted, is when other people keep telling us that our dreams are ridiculous, and that we’ll never achieve them. If you keep being told that you will never succeed, it has a negative effect on your self-esteem, and that is one of the surest ways to prevent you fulfilling your dream. It puts self-doubt in your mind, and reduces your chance of success.
It takes a lot of strong self-belief to stick to your dreams and prove everyone wrong, especially when you are young, and don’t know yourself yet, if you will ever achieve your ambitions or not.
One way to get around this problem, is to not tell anyone what your dreams are. Why?
1.If you say what you plan to achieve, and then achieve it, you are only fulfilling expectations - no big deal, right?
2.If you tell people what you plan to achieve, and then you DON’T achieve it - you are labeled a failure = the worst outcome possible.
3.If you DON’T tell people what you plan to achieve, and you DON’T achieve it, it’s not an issue - and you can still keep striving to achieve your dreams, but without any negative feedback from family and friends.
4.If you DON’T tell people what you plan to achieve, BUT THEN ACHIEVE IT - everyone thinks you're brilliant.
I know which strategy appeals to me the most.

Dr Carol

March 23, 2012 5:14 p.m.

Thanks for the boost! When my path to my goals seems to have more twists and turns in it than I wanted it to, I remind myself of a family member who overcame many barriers to go from the humble beginnings of a migrant farm worker who spoke no English to Harvard medical student in a span of ten years. We are all very proud of our Dr. Q, and he inspires all of us.

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